Evaluation of the Cleveland Browns first preseason game. The Positives, negatives, and OMG!
On Friday night the Browns edged out the Detroit Lions 19-17 in a low scoring affair. As time ticked away late in the fourth quarter Jeff Wolfert kicked the game winning field goal, but as we all know the W isn’t what matters in preseason. In fact what matters is who performed and who didn’t? What does the team need to work on and what did they do well? So here are my list of positives, negatives, and “OMG you have got to be joking!” thoughts from the Cleveland Browns first preseason game.
Positives:
Brandon Weeden:
The first place you have to start is at the Browns new starting quarterback Brandon Weeden who statistically ended his night with a whopping 19.0 QB rating. But part of the reason for the low rating was due to his demonstration as a mature (but still rookie) QB. Weeden who went 3-9 with a pick only really made one mistake throwing into double coverage and giving up an interception. It was a play in which he attempted to jam the ball where it did not belong. Other than that he was careful with the ball and demonstrated his strong arm connecting with rookie WR Travis Benjamin for a 30+ yard pass.
Travis Benjamin:
Speaking of Travis Benjamin I found him to be one of the real bright spots of the game. He demonstrated not only his speed, but ran crisp routes and only appeared to make one error the whole night failing to look over the wrong shoulder on a fade route due to his error in reading the coverage. Other than that, Benjamin went a long way to making a statement that he belongs on this team.
Jordan Cameron:
Another bright spot was tight end Jordan Cameron. He has had a great camp and had an outstanding preseason game snagging 2 balls for 58 yards. He has grown a great deal over the past year and will challenge Evan Moore for the 2nd tight end slot.
Chris Ogbonnaya:
Chris Ogbonnaya made a statement Friday, and that statement was not to leave him out of the discussion regarding Trent Richardson’s backup. He put up 27 yards on 7 carries for a 3.9 yard average. Don’t count him out of the discussion for the 2nd string running back just yet.
Trevin Wade:
Former University of Arizona Cornerback Trevin Wade was impressive Friday night. He was not caught out of position at all and played the run well. He was also one of the few dependable tacklers of the night. If Haden does receive a four game suspension, then Wade has put his name in the running to be the Browns 4th CB.
John Hughes and Billy Winn:
With Phil Taylor out for a good part of the season, the Job as one of the starting defensive tackles will come down to John Hughes or Billy Winn. Both did well in their NFL debuts. If I had to give an edge to one or the other I would say that Hughes may be slightly ahead of Winn. But this was just the first preseason game and that race is too close to call. I want to see both of them play alongside Ahtyba Rubin who was inactive for Friday night’s game.
Brad Smelley:
Brad Smelley demonstrated Friday why he was a big part of Alabama’s success. He did it all both blocking well and receiving snagging a 12-yard TD pass from Seneca Wallace. Smelley will be with the first team offense in no time at all.
Overall it felt good to win. There were many other players on both sides of the ball that were impressive or at least deserve recognition. But if I were to continue this section of the article, it would be way to long and I would lose your interest by now. So let’s take a look at what Cleveland fan always focuses on, the negative performances.
Negatives:
Oddly the three players I would focus on most as having what I would call a bad performance all have last names starting with an “S”. I’m not sure what that means, but I thought I would point that out.
Mitchell Schwartz;
Mitchell Schwartz was drafted as the Browns answer at right tackle, but if he is, he needs a lot of work. He had a rough night getting beat several times and he also looked somewhat lost in open space. His run blocking was fine, but with a rookie QB with less than average ability the the Browns need a solid line. He did not look good during his first game action, but he should improve over time.
Emanuel Stephens:
Defensive End Emanuel Stevens had a great deal of difficulty during the Browns 1st preseason game. It appeared that he was unable to contain the run to any extent. It was similar to watching last year’s DE Jaime Mitchell who was cut during this past offseason for the same type of performance. Stephens is trying to prove he can make this team, but he unfortunately took a step back in that goal on Friday.
Owen Spencer:
It is tough in the NFL. It is even tougher when you are trying to make a team’s roster and Owen Spencer may find his name on the team’s first cut list. Spencer had numerous opportunities to shine and failed. It just wasn’t his night and when you are struggling to make a team you cannot have a bad night, sometimes you only get one shot and he may have had his shot Friday night.
There were plenty of mistakes made on Friday. Josh Gordon demonstrated he is rusty having not played a snap in probably over 16 months. There were also some missed assignments on both sides of the ball, but let’s cover that in the “OMG you have got to be joking!” category.
“OMG YOU HAVE GOT TO BE JOKING!!!!”
Referees:
First let us reflect on past seasons and the thought of being screwed by an official due to a bad call. Apparently, the job is more difficult than it appears because the referees in Friday’s night game missed a lot and made some bad calls. Hopefully this 1st week in the preseason will motivate the NFL to come to an agreement quickly with their referees.
Penalties:
Typically you see a lot of penalties in a team’s first preseason game. But it was pretty bad on Friday as the Browns piled up a lot of penalty yardage opposed to the Lions who had few. This has got to get cleaned up. Shurmur himself said so at halftime (Who by the way was very active and life-like on Friday). It is hard enough to produce offensively in the NFL but tougher still when you put yourself in a hole. The Browns need to work on their discipline which brings me to my next point, tackling.
Tackling:
Anyone who has ever played football knows that from Pop Warner forward you are taught the basics in tacking and basic form tackling was rare to see in the Browns defense against the Lions. To make matters worse they were constantly over-pursuing run plays leaving themselves vulnerable to cut-back lanes. One of these issues is bad enough but when you combine one with the other it normally spells disaster. I do believe once more starters get into the rotation like D’Qwell Jackson, Ahtyba Rubin, Frostee Rucker, and Jabaal Sheard I believe these problems will go away, but this was, and will be valuable experience and game film for those who are rookies and are green in the NFL.
Mohammad Massaquoi:
This one is unfortunate. Mo Massaquoi left the game after one reception after a “head injury” which is unfortunate for the young man. The Browns brass has high hopes for him this year, but it appears that he may not be able to overcome his concussion issue. If it is later confirmed that he has suffered yet another concussion, he may not be cleared to play by the Browns or the NFL for a long time which spells disaster for Massaquoi’s future.
Once again, it is the first preseason game so it is important to not take a lot of stock in Weeden or Hardesty, or Gordon’s performances or even the others I have mentioned. The only real concern that anyone should have are those like Spencer who are already on the bubble. On Thursday the Browns will match up against the juggernaut Green Bay Packers and we will get a longer look at most of our starters. Let’s hope there are more positives than negatives as we progress through the preseason.
Michael W. Youngman--Lead Analyst C.B.R.Michael is the Lead Analyst for the Cleveland Browns Report and the AFC North Report. He has written many articles that have been featured by playerpress.com, cantonrep.com, FoxSports.com, and of course this site. Michael has also written a book titled “The Dayton Project” published in 2008 by PublishAmerica. He makes his home in the Hall of Fame City of Canton Ohio with his wife Lisa and his two children Joseph and Jennifer. To learn more, visit his Website
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